Notes / Commercial Description:
This hoppy, Belgian-style golden ale first appeared in early 2007 as the first edition of our Short Batch Series. At that time, we called it the Gnome, an homage to Brasserie d'Achouffe.

Reviews by FirstBrewsoon:

More User Reviews:

Poured into a large tulip glass a slight hazed medium golden with a nice blooming white crown that left globs of lace as it settled ever so slowly.Spiced phenols and overripe citrus fruit mainly in the nose,the phenols are the main component and that kinda turned me off a little.Medicenel and tropical citrus fruit hop flavors with spicy phenols in the background.while the phenolic flavors are held in check somewhat,the beer lacks a whole lot of complexity in my mind.

Appearance is slightly muddled, but overall clear. Gold in complexion. Short head is somewhat thin and dissipates quickly. Smells quite yeasty, with a hint of funk. Picking up some wheat and citrus. Hmmm... Tastes heavy and flat to start with a thick, almost banana flavor. Minor carbonation carries the middle through a sharp and yeasty blockade. Ends semi-sweet and hot with more of that thick banana flavor. Wondering if this would be better given more time.

“The Gnome” has been reborn in this Big Beer Series. Golden in color with a touch of haze and large carbonation bub- bles that yield a creamy white head. Soft, powdery funk in the nose. Musty orchard, light phenols, gum, pepper, sweet herbal and spicy notes. Fairly light bodied. Prickly carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel, as the beer warms on the palate. Tamed alcohol heat and spice. Quite malty and sweet. Bready, candied fruit, banana, some lemon, white pepper and lingering bubblegum. A bit rough around the edges, but overall a very complex and solid offering that offers a lot to discerning palates and fans of Belgian-inspired ales.

Sampled several of these and even took notes (!) at the Blind Tiger in NYC, p0ured kind of flat unfortunatly, cloudy dark apricot, leaving just a smidge of lacing, nose is Belgian yeastyness, and fruits and flavor notes were of more fruits, bananas, yeast and the expected crisp and spicy and resiny hops. Alot of interest here, respectable take on a style I love, looking foward to more of this from Smutty and hopefully lots of other American and Belgian brewers.

Homunculus opens with a nose that is exactly in line with the Belgian-style Golden Ale that it is: heavy on the banana and clove aromas, with touches of spicy black pepper resting just beneath, and tangible whiffs of pineapple, pear, cherry, and apple fruit esters rounding out the sugars. The nose is slightly more pineapple-based than I normally prefer, giving the brew a fruit cocktail-like overtone. Subtle wheat field notes do help ground the sugars.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a whang of banana and clove, but a split second later these are joined by pear, black pepper, white grape, and apple fruit esters, as well as a good spicy layer that helps further shape the overall effect. The pineapple is thankfully largely gone from the mouthful, replaced by a rind of grapefruit and lemon from the hops, which also contribute a nice buzz to the soft palate (45 IBUs). Toast crust and biscuit bring the beer back to earth. The aftertaste is a continuation of the main mouthful, the hops lingering for far longer than do the sugars, and lasts for a good while, though at the end it does take on an unfortunate taste of dandelion-stem. Mouthfeel is medium-light to medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is good Belgian fare, presenting many of the common flavors of the style, but ramped up in typical Smuttynose Big Beer style to not-normally-seen levels. Even with these larger flavors, the beer manages to be fairly well balanced on the tongue, with only a fairly strong alcoholic kick (the result of the 9.9% ABV) marring what are otherwise great flavors. Worth trying.

(Served in a tulip glass)
2011 on bottle
Almost pasted this up because I tend not to drink beers with sperm on the label. Glad I didn't

A- This beer pours a very slight hazy body with a murky caramel color on the second pour. There is a sticky white film of head that last and leaves register marks on the glass. There is a slow motion of microbubbles swirling to the surface.

S- The full aroma of pears and banana esters is more yeasty than fruity wit a nice finish of green herbal hops that balance the esters nicely.

T- The candy malt quality is not overly sweet with a nice circus peanut candy quality to follow and a dry green hop snap in the finish that has some dry estery fruit notes to it. There is a soft mineral water flavor that could be saison yeast in character but a is only in the background.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a velvety fizz in the finish and no alcohol heat making it hard to believe this is a 9.9 % ABV beer.

O- This beer has a great yeast character with a nice crisp hop finish that balances the flavor and aroma. The dry finish and slight sweetness upfront really makes this beer easy to drink.

A fat complexity, thick and sweet malt, wild honey and caramel along with a major fruity and sharp bite. Earthy yeast and hops, all in pretty good balance, high heat, maybe too much heat even mixed in with the complexity of the other flavor's.

The feel is sharp and dry but crisp, hefty-medium feel, very substantial just like most Smutty's.

Very bold flavor's make this a big beer for sure, major complexity, maybe too big.